21,1 Cole: Manufacture of Industrial Alcohol 29 
Although the motor spirits industry cannot be said so far to be a 
complete failure in its competition with gasoline, certain facts with regard 
to the present consumption indicate that the demand is not increasing in the 
proportion that the producers had at first calculated upon. As a matter 
of fact, the consumption has apparently reached its peak, for the present 
at least, unless the manufacturers encourage it by producing a better 
product. 
This situation has been brought about chiefly by the manufacturers them- 
selves, through practices of their own rather than through any impos- 
sibility of a distiller’s being able to produce an alcoholic motor-spirit 
which will compare favorably with the grade of gasoline now being sold 
on the Cuban markets. First of all, they attempted to sell the motor- 
spirits at a higher price than the relative value of the product in power 
development or mileage obtained as compared to gasoline indicated the 
motor-spirits to be worth. Second, they were instrumental in having a 
formula adopted by the Government which the present state of equipment 
of their plants could meet, and as a consequence, they are turning out a 
product which is. inferior to all other motor-spirits which have been 
manufactured in other countries, and which have been determined by 
elaborate trials and experimental tests to compare favorably with the 
best grades of commercial gasoline. Third, they have not attempted to 
determine whether the engines in which comparative tests have been made 
in Cuba were properly adjusted for economic consumption of the motor- 
spirits and for efficient development of power, nor have they attempted 
to instruct the beginners in the proper manipulation of their engines 
during ordinary, every-day service, but rather have left it to the intel- 
ligence or ignorance of the chauffeurs to discover such matters for them- 
selves, 
The formula adopted by the Cuban Government was: 
To 1,000 parts of alcohol of not less than 95%, add 0.5 part of formal- 
dehyde, 8.00 parts of pyridine; and to every 100 parts of this mixture add 
10 parts of gasoline or sulphuric ether, and 5 centigrams of methyl violet 
powder. 
It will be noted that either gasoline or sulphuric ether may 
be used and, as not one of the distilleries was equipped to make 
ether, gasoline was used. To add almost 10 per cent of a prod- 
uct with which one is competing is not logical. Furthermore, 
@ successful motor alcohol must have at least 40 per cent of a 
highly volatile liquid to compare favorably with gasoline. Cuba 
must éither revise her formula and make a motor fuel contain- 
ing at least 40 per cent of ether, or kill an industry which is 
capable of turning out 50,000,000’ gallons of valuable motor 
spirits annually. 
MANUFACTURE OF ALCOHOL-ETHER MOTOR FUEL | 
Alcohol distilleries now operating can easily make the alcohol- 
ether motor fuel by simply adding an inexpensive ether still and 
the requisite storage tanks to their present equipment. The 
ideal location for such a plant, however, is not in Manila but 
